USA withholds $65 mn from Palestinian aid programs: State Dept

But the $60 million that was provided can't be used for any other goal.

"At stake is the dignity and human security of millions of Palestine refugees in need of emergency food assistance and other support", UNRWA commissioner general Pierre Krahenbuhl said in a statement yesterday.

The United States held back $65 million that had been destined for the United Nations relief agency for Palestinians on Tuesday, two weeks after President Donald Trump threatened future payments. While Abbas was in Cairo today for a summit on Jerusalem with Arab League officials, the Secretary-General, Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, said the U.S.'s "decision does not come apart from recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and [Israeli] settlement building", reported Anadolu Agency. No matter the USA bilateral relationship with the Palestinian Authority, UNRWA should not be a bargaining chip. "When we say that we're basically looking at the fact that you've got, basically they're considering Palestinian as a refugee".

Soon after the USA announcement, UNRWA launched the fundraiser for what it described as the "most dramatic financial crisis" since its inception, The Times of Israel reported.

Washington is the largest single contributor to UNRWA's finances and past year donated more than $364m to fund humanitarian projects to approximately 5.2 million registered Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.

On Monday, the PLO central council condemned the Trump administration for threats to cut UNRWA funding, saying that Washington is trying to absolve itself of responsibility for the Palestinian refugee crisis that it helped create in 1948.

Two Americans, two Canadians kidnapped in Nigeria
Two German archaeologists were seized at gunpoint a year ago less than 100 kilometres northeast of Abuja and later freed unharmed. Global Affairs Canada spokesman John Babcock said Canadian officials were aware that two citizens were reportedly abducted.

But in early January, about two weeks after the United Nations vote, Trump tweeted that, "we pay the Palestinians HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect". She added that the $60 million that was transferred to the agency was sent "to ensure that teachers, and also health care providers can be paid their salaries". The money, which is primarily earmarked for salaries for teachers and health workers, can not be used to cover the $45 million food bill. "Living conditions in Gaza, Syria, the West bank and elsewhere in the region are particularly tough", De Croo said in the statement. None of the money can be used to pay for programs in Lebanon and Syria.

Trump said in a Twitter post on January 2 that the United States gives the Palestinians hundreds of millions of dollars a year, "but get no appreciation or respect". The US State Department justified this measure saying that the agency needed to make reforms.

"This is not aimed at punishing anyone", spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters. The letter also makes clear that additional U.S. donations will be contingent on major changes by UNRWA, which has been heavily criticised by Israel.

Nauert said concerns about regional stability were reflected in the decision to cut only a portion of the funding and not "zero" out the budget.

"We believe that the methods of extortion and pressure of the U.S. Administration on the United Nations, especially with regard to programs that do not suit Israel and rightwing extremists, are unacceptable to the global community and UN member states".

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the move had nothing to do with "punishing" the Palestinians for their refusal to enter into negotiations with Israel, or their decision to push for a United Nations vote that resulted in overwhelming worldwide condemnation of the Trump administration's decision to unilaterally recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Related Articles

Its analysis, though, involved only accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency, a suspected Russian propaganda service. Facebook is set to widen its search for evidence of Russia's alleged interference in Britain's European Union referendum.

Other major cryptocoins including Ethereum , Ripple , Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and more are riding the same wave of uncertainty. Cryptocurrencies have been heavily sold off, amid fresh fears of a major regulatory crackdown in South Korea.

Man, it sure would be nice for the Dolphins and Jets to contribute to Blake's foundation after the Jags beat the Patriots . After starting the season 3-3, the Jaguars finished 7-3 and won the AFC South for the first time in almost two decades.

According to initial hands-on of the app, Google appears to have partnered with Alibaba-owned AutoNavi for mapping data. That's something Google has been working toward for years, which could explain Google's return to China with Maps.

Murphy asked for New Jersey's legislature to pass a bill that would make the intent of the executive order state law. Murphy said he would resist every move from Trump and what he called "a misguided Republican Congress".

The US West Texas Intermediate crude February contract was down 15 cents or about 0.27 per cent at $63.56 a barrel by 10:00 a.m. MCX Crude oil futures closed at Rs 4084 per barrel yesterday, flat on the day after hitting highs near Rs 4100 levels.

It will be a 10-episode series which will mark Wiig's return to the small screen after she left Saturday Night Live in 2012. She has focused on movies, including " Bridesmaids ", " Ghostbusters ", and the recent " Downsizing " opposite Matt Damon.

Canada sends roughly three-quarters of its exports to the USA , or the equivalent of 20% of total economic output. The two-year was down 2 cents to yield 1.784 per cent and the 10-year declined 22 cents to yield 2.199 per cent.

The game was a breeze for PSG and they got off to a rampant start as Angel Di Maria opened the scoring with five minutes. Neymar doubled his tally 12 minutes into the second half, beating Reynet from close range.

Revenues rose 1.4% from previous year to $17.25 billion, also edging out analysts' view for $17.23 billion. The huge tax charges overshadowed what was an otherwise largely unremarkable batch of quarterly results .

'Text bomb' bug slows down Apple's iPhones and Macs
As we reported yesterday , the chaiOS bug centres around a link that, when delivered, will stop the affected device in its tracks. In 2015 Apple has already faced a same issue when iMessage was brought down by a string of Unicode characters .

Michael Wolff's 'Fire And Fury' Could Head To Television
Michael Wolff's explosive behind-the-scenes book about President Donald Trump , 'Fire and Fury , ' is headed for television. Bookstores sold out within minutes, and e-book and audiobooks sold more than 250,000 and 100,000 copies, respectively.

Turkey Threatens to Attack Kurdish Allies of USA in Syria
Turkey sent troops into Syria in 2016 to prevent Syrian Kurdish fighters from forming a contiguous entity along its border. There are now some 2,000 USA troops in Syria , mainly training local forces to root out remaining extremist strongholds.

Three New Submarine Cables to Link Google Cloud Data Centers
Over the past three years since Greene came on board , the company has spent a whopping $30 billion beefing up the infrastructure. As it invests in bandwidth, Google is also expanding the data center capacity that supports its cloud services around the world.